The legacy of Miyoshi Umeki

When Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for “Babel” earlier this year, it was a historic occasion — she became the second Asian actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, and the first in nearly 50 years. The first? The incomparable Miyoshi Umeki, in the same category, for 1957’s “Sayonara.”

Miyoshi Umeki, 1929-2007

So it was sad news when it was announced Wednesday that Umeki had died of cancer at age 78 in Missouri on Aug. 28. San Franciscans might remember her for her lovely portrayal of Mei Li, the irrepressibly optimistic Chinese immigrant in The City’s Chinatown, singing “A Hundred Million Miracles” in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” a role the Japanese-born actress and recording artist originated on Broadway.

As with many nonwhite actors, Oscar gold didn’t translate into much of a career boost — not even with a Time magazine cover after she won. “Flower Drum Song” was the high point; she quit acting a decade later after four years as the housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston, on “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”

The question is, why haven’t more Asians been nominated, or have won? There have only been seven nominated ever, and only two wins (Haing S. Ngor is the only Asian male to win, for 1984’s “The Killing Fields.”)The others? Sessue Hayakawa (“The Bridge on the River Kwai”) was nominated the same year as Umeki, followed by Mako (“The Sand Pebbles,” 1966), Pat Morita (“The Karate Kid,” the same year as Ngor’s win), Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai,” 2003) and Kikuchi. That’s it.

There have now been several wins and nominations (though still not enough) by black actors — 7 wins and 27 nominations in the last 20 years, and Hispanic or Spanish-speaking actors have about a dozen nominations and a win (Benicio Del Toro for 2000’s “Traffic”). In addition, there have been several nominations for foreign-language performances in foreign-language films, even the occasional win (Roberto Benigni in “Life Is Beautiful,” for example).

Meanwhile, there have been egregious omissions for performances by Asian actors. In 1988, “The Last Emperor” swept the Academy Awards, winning nine Oscars. And yet magnificent performances by John Lone and Joan Chen were not even nominated. And, of course, in 2001, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” had the most nominations — 10 — but none in the acting category, despite excellent work by Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-Fat and Zhang Ziyi. Gong Li has gone unrecognized after several great foreign-language performances.

Umeki’s achievement, it appears, looms larger than ever, a half-century down the pike.